Numerous procedures involving catheters and other minimally invasive devices may be performed to provide a wide variety of treatments, such as ablation, angioplasty, dilation or the like. Prior to insertion into a vessel and/or placement near a particular tissue region, the balloon is typically in a deflated state, and may include a number of folds that reduce the cross-sectional area of the balloon to ease insertion and/or placement. During a particular procedure, the balloon may be transitioned between inflated and deflated states in order to provide the desired affect. Such cycling can cause portions of the internal components of the catheter to experience axial movement. Moreover, when the balloon is deflated subsequent to a desired inflation, it may not necessarily deflate into its original, folded state occurring prior to use. Rather the balloon may bunch up or otherwise improperly deflate, causing the deflated balloon to have a larger than desirable radius, which may cause complications during the extraction and/or repositioning of the medical device.
In addition, when a balloon is employed, it often must be manufactured or constructed to have a particular shape or dimension for a specific application, and as such, any given catheter with a balloon may be limited to use in situations where the fixed dimensions of the balloon are appropriate. For example, a balloon may have a fixed radius in an inflated state, making it only suitable for a procedure requiring such a dimension or where a particular vasculature may accommodate that radius. As such, multiple catheters having varying fixed dimensions may be needed to successfully perform a desired treatment.
Accordingly, in light of the above limitations, it would be desirable to provide a medical device in which the balloon could be caused to deflate into its original, uninflated and folded orientation for ease of removal and/or repositioning. Moreover, it would be desirable to provide a medical device having an expandable element, such as a balloon, in which the particular size, shape, and/or dimensions of the balloon may be controlled and modified during use.